Bunning defends his filibuster

Sen. Jim Bunning took to the Senate floor on Monday to defend his one-man filibuster of expiring unemployment benefits.

"If we can't find $10 billion to pay for something that we all support, we will never pay for anything on the floor of this U.S. Senate," he said.

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The Kentucky Republican has come under fierce fire from Democrats for his one man filibuster of expiring transportation funds, Medicare reimbursement rates, and unemployment benefits. Already his opposition has resulted in the furlough of 2,000 workers at the Department of Transportation. If it continues, millions of unemployed workers could lose their health insurance and benefits.

Bunning got support from Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl, who defended his colleagues insistence of paying for the legislation with unused stimulus funds.

"You can't say that everything we do around here needs to be offset," said Kyl, "and then waive the pay go legislation every time you want to do it."

"My colleague from Kentucky made a good point."

Bunning said that he had “offered several ways” to offset the costs in talks with Democratic leadership staff but “none have been successful.”

“We cannot keep adding to the debt,” he said. “It’s over $14 trillion and going up fast.”

Bunning, said Reid, also raised no objections to passing the Bush tax cuts and authorizing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq without paying for the provisions.

“We don’t need lectures here on debt,” said Reid.

"The Republicans in the Senate are standing between these families and the help they need while these benefits expire and expired," he added. "It might work under the Senate rules they can do that, but it certainly doesn't work for working families."

Democrats cranked up the pressure on Monday, asking Bunning again and again to drop his filibuster.

“What Sen. Bunning has done has frustrated a lot of people across the political spectrum,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.

Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer asked Bunning to “stop this gamesmanship,” noting that his block had led to the furlough of 2,000 transportation workers.